PROPER MINDSET

I was listening to my trainer this morning (yes, I also have a trainer). His talk was all about mindset with our fitness. He was relaying how some of his clients talk about how they aren’t getting the results that they were hoping, but then he asks them for more details and it often turns to them admitting they haven’t been diligent in their program - either from the nutrition side or the workouts.

They were relaying stories about skipping parts of the workouts due to time or because they didn’t want to do some of them. They were talking about eating outside of their meals, mentioning things like, “I just had a handful of chips or just a few pieces of candy.”

His take-away was that if someone is admitting this it was probably not the first time and they were not fully admitting how much they were actually cheating.

Listen, it is very difficult to maintain 100% compliance on a nutrition plan or workouts. Life throws us curve balls and can put a hiccup even in the best plans. More often than not, however, it’s not so much life as it is our own self that is causing the disruption in our progress.

When we start a program, our intentions are good. We probably start because we are frustrated with our current state. We don’t like how our clothes are fitting, we don’t like that we are tired or feeling weak or perhaps our latest physical didn’t show the results we had hoped.

So we embark on declarations immediately. “No more cake!” “I’m going to the gym tomorrow.” And with both of those, we do them … for a few days. Then the weekend comes and friends have you over for a party. And there is cake. And you know you shouldn’t do it, but you think, “Oh it’s one piece. It won’t make any difference. And besides I’m going to the gym all next week.”. And then you feel not great and in your mind you start telling yourself, “Here I go again. No willpower. I said I wouldn’t eat any cake and then I do.”

Then the following week, you miss three days of the gym due to a crazy schedule. You’re tired and again you simply think, “It’s not a big deal. I’ll get on it next week and I’ll stick to it! Heck, I’ll do two workouts per day next week!”

You see where I’m going? Trust me, I have been there.

These days everything is instantaneous. Order from Amazon and have it the same day. News happens, immediately read about it on your phone. We have little patience and we often have those same “speedy” expectations when it comes to our health and fitness.

But guess what? It takes work.

Think of it this way … you didn’t get out of shape or gain more weight overnight, so why expect that you will lose it overnight? Our bodies simply don’t work that way, but how they do react is when we treat them well and feed, exercise and rest them properly.

I’m a big believer that in order to make BIG changes you have to make smaller ones first. We have to get some wins under our belt in order to cement good thoughts and actions. Set small milestone goals to achieve along the way, but be kind to yourself if you mess up.

Newsflash, I love ice cream. I treat myself every now and again, but where I once could devour a pint of my favorite flavor, I can now make it last days or even a week by simply tasting a little and putting it away. That’s progress. I feel a bit of reward, but I don’t feel guilty.

You can do this, trust me.